Видео

It's from jpopsuki: jpopsuki.eu/static/images/artists/9255.jpg In this video I enlarged it, but in reality it was very small. I think it's from some old newspaper article since I've seen the photo with some text as well, and there's a pic of Zeed Ijima (their drummer at the time) taken from the same photo but I can't find the entire photo. I assume it's a full photo of the band. There's been some quite funny stuff surfacing now that Damian did a comeback with Damian Hamada's Creatures. Look at this: www.pinterest.jp/pin/on-twitter--293085888229011238/ It says "Homeroom teacher Mr Hamada". No idea how old the photo is but his real first name is nowhere to be found. Apparently his students called him "Dami" after finding out about his heavy metal career. :) Here's another article I found with some old photos: smart-flash.jp/entame/120528/image/1/ I think part of the performance in the first photo can be found on youtube. But why are the rare old photos always so small... The mysterious thing about Seikima-II is how their true biography is nowhere to be found. We only know that Demon and Damian went to the same university and started the band in 1983 or so and that Ace Shimizu was playing drums at first. Demon is still in character and I read somewhere that he refused to wash off the makeup in 1986 after he jumped from above the stage during a show and went to the hospital with a broken leg. I just love these guys! :)

​@@You2Toothanks for the response and information. I think all the photos are small is because most of the available pictures weren't properly scanned or even scanned at all, most look like some just took a picture of the magazine/news paper then posted it online. I would like to get some old magazines and properly archive them.

@@anonymous._.euronymous._.1349 You're welcome! I also found the old forum where I used to be active. Seems to be dead since 2010 but maybe you can go through the pages and find rare photos or other stuff? seikima-ii.livejournal.com/

​@@You2Too I've found a book that's basically the history of the band with some old photos I haven't seen before. It would sure be nice If they released a "Pre Debut\Demo Years" box set or something similar one-day.

I've been asking around among the traders and most didn't even know there existed a demotape from Seikima-II. I tried back then as well. There is another version on youtube but it is very loud and distorted. Sadly, I think we'll have to settle with what we have for now.

It's been many years since I found this demotape on a japanese forum, or rather a collection of demos and a few older live versions of songs that were later rewritten. Ever since, I haven't been able to find out any information other than the fact that Damian Hamada wrote Fire Dancer and Midnight Soldier. Apparently he was asked once and replied that he did. Since it's been so many years and we now have software like Izotope RX I'm going to have another go at these songs sometime and try uploading the entire thing. The only songs that sound consistent as if being from the same tape are: Rouningyou No Yakata, Moai, Midnight Soldier, Fire Dancer, Akuma No Sanbika. The tape starts with Shin Seikimatsu No Teema (Souseiki) and Century End (The End Of The Century) but the first track is almost inaudible because of how much noise there is, and I think "Century End" can be found on youtube in a clearer version now. Then there are some live tracks: Medusa, (another unreleased song) Rock In The Freedom (Rock In The Kingdom) and from two different gigs: Shoudou Satsujinsha (Jack The Ripper). I know for a fact that there are old video bootlegs out there also but I haven't been able to find much at all. I think they protect the stuff from their early days since maybe they hadn't decided on how serious their acting would be? After all, the first names are all written with quotation marks on the back of the first album.

Here's that version of "Century End" ruclips.net/video/nZQ28ZtlHNE/видео.html And a clip I hadn't seen before, likely from late 1984 or early 1985: ruclips.net/video/U5nZKDT9DTM/видео.html There the lineup is Demon, Damian, Ace, Zod and Zeed. Sadly they cut everything but Jigoku No Koutaishi. Btw, I'd love to know why Damian never wore kabuki style makeup, if he was allergic or something? Now that it's been over 40 years since they formed I think they should open up with a real biography about themselves.

@@You2Too His Majesty never wore any Kabuki style make up because his persona is related to Lucifer (something about him being Lucifer's son), therefore, he was supposed to look more like a fallen angel than a demon, hence why he decided to not wear Kabuki style make up

@@Mt_Lucifer Yep, Damian as in Damien from the movie Omen. But I didn't think about it that way. He looks "brighter" because he's supposed to be an angel. Makes sense.

Thank you! I had no idea this was even on my channel still. In 2020 when I uploaded it, it was marked as copyrighted material and wasn't viewable by anyone. It makes me so happy to see people are starting to find it.

Thank you so much! Amazing that they finally let people listen to this. I used Izotope RX, I use it for pretty much everything, amazing piece of software. I don't remember all the stuff I did to this album but several EQ passes and some de-essing since the best version I found had more treble than the rest. And yeah, there actually is no remastered CD, yet. Only reissues. I've also heard the original vinyl and it doesn't sound much better than the CDs. Back in 2020 I actually sent a message to Meat Loaf on Facebook since I knew he had a lot of contact with his fans, and asked him if it's not time to release a 40th Anniversary Remaster of this album, I think I accidently wrote 30th... He was the only guy I knew would have the connections and I told him I had a master ready if anyone was willing to listen, or that they could hire the guy who remastered Bat Out Of Hell for SACD (can't remember his name at the moment) and maybe he could do it better since I don't have high enough quality speakers to know if it's good enough. I never received a reply, and then Jim passed away, and the year after, Meat too. :(

@@You2Too No criticism here, just praise. Not many people would take the time to make the effort and then make it available to everyone. Again - many thanks. I agree with you completely. The original CD release to me always sounded flat. Your remaster is brought it back to life, without going over the top. The crispness was the first thing I noticed. It's a shame you didn't have access to better masters. I usually attempt to remastered pretty much everything that era that strikes me as needing it. Unfortunately, not all the remasters that I have bought have been worth it. They often compress everything to the point where there are no dynamics (the loudness wars have ruined so much music) Personally, I didn't notice too much bass. But if somebody does, it appears to me to be in range without clipping and people can adjust accordingly. I have a set Sennhiser head-phones. I also bought a Bose set-up with two front speakers and a subwoofer. If I can get a good master (or at least one track, maybe a hit, that has been properly remastered ) I attempt match those frequencies, if it sounds correct, as best possible. From what I find is that many of the remasters can be several decibels louder (without clipping). In those instances I like make sure all of my tracks are as close as possible that volume. I have always found bass to be tricky. I guess that is in part due to the original release back in the day where bass kept in check because it made the grooves larger on albums and you couldn't get 40 minutes of so of music on there. Unfortunately, because the rush to put everything on CD the record companies weren't interested in audiophile releases. Bass, in particular, was an afterthought. Rock music to me always sound better if the kick drum is not lost in the mix. So I literally sit with my foot on the sub and compare what the EQ is telling me to what me ears / foot are! I then listen in my car to how it sounds. I can't tell many times I have to go back to the drawing board. But it's all good, and a lot of fun. Bad For Good is a recording that has great dynamic range. I suspect the bass could easily get lost in the mix. I thought you're mastering was spot on because of it. Thanks again for posting the album. It brings back so many great memories!

​@@silversurfernow6342 What a great reply, thank you so much! Like you said, not being professionals we kinda have to go by what we know sounds good. Although there are audiophile remasters of some classic albums that sound awful even though they're not compressed or anything. But often they just apply compression and call it remaster when it's not. And this album, in my opinion is worthy of a remaster but I'd also love to see an accompanying DVD or blu-ray with the music videos and interviews in high quality. The ones on youtube are badly compressed.

A fun experiment but the song really sounds better when played fast. Especially live though... ARE YOU HIGH?!!!